Padgett not bitter about 2009 final loss

Published: Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 02:18 PM.

Southwest fans like to reflect on their school winning state 2-A titles in 2000, 2003 and 2004.

And why not? Those Stallions teams were really good and deserving of a state title, and they beat some talented squads.

Even the 1999 team that advanced to the state final for the first time in school history gets plenty of love for being the program that showed that Southwest could hold its own among the state’s best.

But like that team, the 2009 Stallions also lost in the title game, falling 45-21 to Albemarle in the 1-AA final in Winston-Salem.

Southwest coach Phil Padgett was asked if he still has a bitter taste in his mouth about that defeat, a loss that saw the Stallions never recover after falling behind early.

“No bitter taste, but I’m just disappointed because I think what could I have done different to prepare the team,” Padgett said. “I just feel like we were so dominant in the East, but we did something wrong (in the final). What did I do wrong?”

Southwest fans like to reflect on their school winning state 2-A titles in 2000, 2003 and 2004.

And why not? Those Stallions teams were really good and deserving of a state title, and they beat some talented squads.

Even the 1999 team that advanced to the state final for the first time in school history gets plenty of love for being the program that showed that Southwest could hold its own among the state’s best.

But like that team, the 2009 Stallions also lost in the title game, falling 45-21 to Albemarle in the 1-AA final in Winston-Salem.

Southwest coach Phil Padgett was asked if he still has a bitter taste in his mouth about that defeat, a loss that saw the Stallions never recover after falling behind early.

“No bitter taste, but I’m just disappointed because I think what could I have done different to prepare the team,” Padgett said. “I just feel like we were so dominant in the East, but we did something wrong (in the final). What did I do wrong?”

Around the horn

This marks Southwest’s sixth trip to the finals — the Stallions are 3-2 — with the title game against Swain County marking the second time the team has played at Carter-Finley Stadium at N.C. State University.

The Stallions’ last time in Raleigh was in 2003 when Southwest beat Burlington Cummings 20-14 in the 2-A final. Southwest also played at the University of North Carolina in 1999 and 2000, Duke in 2004 and Wake Forest in 2009.

“The best thing is that it’s only two hours,” Padgett said of the distance between N.C. State and Jacksonville.

Football and futbol

Southwest senior kicker Nick Matics has a full plate this season.

Not only has he been kicking for the Stallions’ football team, he was also the starting goalkeeper for Southwest’s state championship soccer team. Matics was the most valuable player of the soccer final.

He said it was tough balancing both soccer and football this fall.

“It has been, trying to make both teams happy, but I feel I did a pretty good job so far,” Matics said.

Experienced

Matics already has experience playing in a state final, however, he said he hasn’t been the one to give the football players advice on how to handle a championship game.

“I think Shak Pershey and JeVonte’ Taylor have been telling everyone about it since they were freshmen and got moved up when they (football team) went to the state championship game in 2009,” Matics said.

“Our quarterback has done a great job of running our team, making good decisions and handling what teams give us,” Blankenship said. “Matthew is a phenomenal player and an all-around athlete and he’s scored in so many ways for us. Greg is a big ol’ receiver who does just what you ask him to do. Lane is a great kid and a great student and he runs so hard.”

TGIF

Padgett came just short of saying “Thank goodness it’s Friday” when talking about his team.

He said the Stallions have performed better under the Friday night lights than during afternoon practices throughout the week.

“I’ll be honest with you, our team probably plays harder on Friday than Monday through Thursday,” Padgett said. “On Friday night we really play hard and have stepped it up.”

Padgett will just have to wait and see how his team responds in the final since it will be played on Saturday.

“It gives us a little more time to prep,” he said.

Air Padgett

Known for its strong running game, Southwest over the recent years has shown an ability to throw the ball, particularly this season.

“We’ve thrown the ball more than we usually do, but with that being said, Shak has done a good job throwing the football, even though we haven’t hard to throw it a whole lot,” Padgett said. “We’re a running football team and we’ve always been a running football team. That’s kind of what our MO has been since I’ve been here. I just believe in a strong running game.”

Stampeding Stallions

And because of SWO’s running game, Padgett feels as if the Stallions are a good mascot for his school.

“We are called the Stallions and that’s probably a good name because we love to run,” he said. “We are going to run the football. It’s what we do and what our program is about. The kids have bought into it and it’s paid off at this point.”

More titles

Since joining the 1-A classification in 2009, Southwest has captured two state titles and made three final trips in girls’ soccer, won a state title in boys’ soccer this fall and saw its girls’ basketball team advance to a state title game.

The only thing missing it appears is a state football title. Perhaps that motivates the football team even more.

“I’m just excited for our football program, but I’m also excited for our athletic program because we’ve had such a great fall,” said Padgett, who is also Southwest’s athletic director. “I want us to win everything. Our coaches work so hard.”

Other duties

Not only do Padgett and Blankenship have to coach their teams this week, they have still have perform their administration duties as their school’s AD’s.

And that includes a lot of responsibilities.

“What we are going to do as far as transportation and costs?” Padgett said of his duties. “There’s a lot of things to pay for, that’s my concern.”

Meanwhile, Blankenship has had his phone ring many times since the Maroon Devils advanced to the final.

“We were meeting (in Greensboro) to exchange film on Saturday morning and I think I got like eight text messages from people asking me where we are staying and I didn’t have a clue,” he said. “You have to deal with all these questions. Your phone rings off the hook about this and that.”

One league, 2 finals

Swain County is not the only team from the Smoky Mountain Conference playing for a state title this year. Murphy is in the 1-A final against Plymouth.

Murphy is in the final for the third consecutive year, having beaten Jones Senior 21-6 last year.

“Last year was the first year it happened,” Blankenship said of Swain County and Murphy both advancing to the finals. “We were shocked and Murphy was too that they got that far last year. This year I think they expected to be here. Our conference is traditionally strong.”